


Into the Basement We Wander

by SmileAndASong



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Band, Basement Gerard Way, First Meetings, Fluff, Humor, Love at First Sight, M/M, Punk Frank Iero, Star Wars References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:07:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24046381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmileAndASong/pseuds/SmileAndASong
Summary: “I was just looking for the bathroom.” The man looks around the dimly lit basement, his eyes glancing over to the collection of Star Wars action figures, then up at the bookshelf of alphabetized graphic novels before returning back to Gerard. “...this isn’t the bathroom, is it?”“No.” Gerard shifts in his creaky, Diet Coke-stained desk chair. “It isn’t.”
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Comments: 9
Kudos: 112





	Into the Basement We Wander

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not even gonna make any comments about writing another MCR fic. At this point, much like my emo tendencies, it's not a phase anymore. 
> 
> I absolutely love Basement Gerard with all of my heart, and I really just wanted to write something where I could go wild with him and embrace every aspect of his nerdiness. I know I say this all of the time, but this is hands down one of the most self-indulgent fics I've ever written. Did I project my opinions on the Star Wars franchise and other nerdy media onto Gerard? You bet I did! 
> 
> Kind of weird to say, but this fic actually contains major spoilers for Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker, as well as some pretty unabashed, lukewarm opinions on it. 
> 
> The title of the fic is a play on the song "Into the Cave We Wander" by, of course, Gerard Way and Ray Toro.
> 
> The fic is unbeta'd, because I don't know anyone who wants to put up with my MCR hyperfixation (and really, I can't blame them), so any mistakes are my own! Comments and kudos are always appreciated, thank you for taking the time to read!

“Alright, so before our next session, I’m thinking that I’m going to increase my character’s--” Ray pauses at the sound of a loud ‘thud’ noise coming from Gerard’s end of the voice call. “Shit, what was that? Is your house under attack or something?”

“No, sorry, Mikey’s just having some friends over, and they’re--” _thud, thud, thud_ , interrupts once again, along with some lively chants of ‘chug, chug, chuuuug!’ Gerard huffs out an exasperated sigh and glares up at the ceiling. “--They’re noisy.”

“Sounds like more than just a few friends to me,” Ray replies, dryly. “Your Mom’s cool with that?”

“Yeah, she doesn’t care.” Only because she doesn’t know and she’s out of town, but it’s not like Mikey is in high school anymore and sneaking beers from the fridge behind his parents’ back. Mikey’s twenty-one; he’s got every right to have friends over for drinks if he wants to. 

Though knowing Mikey, he’s going to cover it up -- if only to avoid an embarrassing conversation with their mother -- and he’ll force Gerard to swear to secrecy. Not that Gerard is gonna rat on Mikey in the first place. Not unless he decides he needs something out of his brother. 

What else are siblings good for if not a little exploitation for personal gain?

The stereo in the living room turns on and loud rock music starts blaring through the house, the ceiling above Gerard now vibrating and shaking. The music is pretty damn heavy with lots of dirty vocals and a really forceful use of the bass. Pretty off kilter music for your typical house party, but it seems to go over well Mikey’s circle of friends, who all cheer excitedly and/or start imitating the aggressive screams of the vocalist (and not very well).

Gerard winces, able to hear it clear as day even with his headset on. Which means Ray can, too, and he’s not gonna subject his friend to that. “We should probably get off of voice and move to text. They’re getting drunker up there, meaning things are just gonna get louder and rowdier.”

“Yeah, no worries,” Ray agrees, laid-back as he always is. “Although, if you wanna get in on that action, we can always put the campaign discussion on hold til tomorrow.”

Gerard lets out a snort. Like that’s gonna happen. He’s spending his Saturday night alone in his basement-dwelling, clad in Batman pajama bottoms and a tattered hoodie, planning his D&D campaign on Discord. 

The life of the party, he is not. 

“Mmm, I think I’ll pass. Alright, text time. I’ll see you there.” He ends the voice call, but keeps his headphones on. He needs music, a podcast, friggin’ ASMR, anything! He doesn’t care, just so long as it’ll cover up the sounds of SlayerBloodSkull666, or whatever garbage they’re listening to up there. He’s flirting with the possibility of some Bowie, when suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he sees movement. He lets out a high-pitched yelp and jumps, fumbling out of his chair and onto the floor.

“Woah!” An unfamiliar voice exclaims. “It’s cool, man, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

Pulling himself back up, Gerard moves his shaggy -- and very greasy -- hair out of his face and looks toward the direction of the voice to see his intruder.

It’s a guy around Mikey’s age, if not a little younger. He’s pierced, tatted, he’s got very cool two-toned hair, and he certainly looks like someone who would enjoy the death metal stylings of SlayerBloodSkull666.

Gerard doesn’t recognize him, so he’s pretty confident that they’ve never met before. But then again, his social skills are completely abysmal if he’s not communicating online or with his family, and he almost alway forgets half the people Mikey introduces him to. 

To be fair, Mikey knows _a lot_ of people.

Gerard clears his throat as he takes his seat again. “Can I, uh, help you?” He’s opting to play it off as a first encounter; that feels like the safer option.

“I was just looking for the bathroom.” The man looks around the dimly lit basement, his eyes glancing over to the collection of Star Wars action figures, then up at the bookshelf of alphabetized graphic novels, before returning back to Gerard. “...this isn’t the bathroom, is it?”

“No.” Gerard shifts in his creaky, Diet Coke-stained desk chair. “It isn’t.”

“Oh.” Mystery Guy bites down on his lip ring, his cheeks now a touch pink. “Mikey said it was the door right off the kitchen.”

“The _second_ door right off the kitchen,” Gerard corrects, not terribly fazed by the mistake. This isn’t the first time this has happened at one of Mikey’s parties, and it certainly won’t be the last. Drunks never heard right, especially when the instructions are coming from someone who’s also drunk. 

Mystery Guy surprisingly doesn’t look very inebriated at all, nor does he look particularly off put by the basement or its sole inhabitant. Confused, definitely, but he’s not looking around with disdain like so many others had when they accidentally discovered what lies beneath the house and the party: an exceptionally nerdy, unemployed, twenty-five year old man. 

A horror-movie worthy monster at its finest.

No, Mystery Guy, he’s actually smiling -- smiling at Gerard. This is...this is new.

“Whoops, my bad. Guess I can’t follow directions, as usual.” Mystery Guy chuckles, shaking his head. “I didn’t know Mikey had a brother. At least, I’m assuming you’re his brother?”

Gerard nods. “Yeah, I’m his brother.”

“Huh,” Mystery Guy says, casually. Too casually for Gerard to figure out whether he’s seeing this as a good thing or a bad thing. But he’s stepping further into the basement as opposed to retreating back up the stairs, so that’s gotta say something. “If you’re his brother, then how come you’re down here by yourself? It’s your house, too, so shouldn’t you be playing co-host?”

“I’m not much of a party guy,” Gerard says, figuring that sounds better than ‘I’m a reclusive hermit, and I can’t hold a conversation’. 

Although his room does a pretty good job of conveying that.

“Oh?” Mystery Guy saunters over toward the desk and presses his hip against it, looking Gerard right in the eye. “Well, then what type of a guy are you?”

“Um.” Gerard feels the blush forming on his cheek. Mystery Guy sounds like he’s flirting, but Gerard can’t be sure. This is far from his realm of expertise, and he honestly can’t remember the last time someone’s flirted with him. At least, flirting that he was aware of. 

“I’m pretty into…” He goes through his interests in his head, trying to pick the one that would make him sound even remotely cool. “Art. I, uh, I draw. I went to art school.”

“Yeah?” Mystery Guy says, his interest clearly piqued. “That’s awesome, man, I love art. Can I see some of it?”

“What? No!” Gerard answers too quickly and probably very rudely. “I mean. I don’t...art’s kind of an intimate thing, and I don’t even know who you are.”

“Frank!” Mystery Guy -- Frank -- says, cheerfully, extending a tattooed hand out for a shake. Gerard reluctantly takes it and shakes, hoping that his own hand is less sweaty than it feels. “See, now we’re not strangers. Now, let’s see some art!”

“I thought you had to go to the bathroom.”

“Eh, that can wait, I’ve got a good bladder. Now come on, show me something! I promise I won’t judge. Well, other than judging it for how amazing it is.”

Frank flashes that charming, confident smile at him once again, and Gerard’s blush deepens and he abruptly turns away. 

Is Frank doing this intentionally to get him all flustered? Does he get his kicks out of making basement hermits all hot and bothered? Or is he really just that nice? 

Once again, Gerard’s not sure, but he breaks his resolve and begrudgingly clicks and opens his digital art folder. He scans over the vast collection of files, searching for something that’s not too weird, too nerdy, or too revealing for a first encounter. Frank is peering over his shoulder, standing close enough that Gerard can feel his beer-scented breath against his neck, which isn’t making things any easier.

“Hey, what’s this one?” Frank points at a file on the screen. “Party Poison? And here I thought you weren’t a party guy!” He looks down at Gerard and smirks. “But it’s looking like you’re definitely a tease…”

Alright, Frank is _definitely_ flirting, even Gerard’s oblivious ass can figure that much out. Gerard puts his hand over his face in a feeble attempt to conceal the deep blush that’s completely overtaken his pale complexion.

“No, he’s...he’s a character I made.” Gerard clicks the link and opens the file, revealing the digital sketch of his beloved gunslinger. It’s a full body character model-type drawing, only halfway colored, still in its work in progress stage. It probably wouldn’t have been his first choice to show Frank, nor is it the one in his collection that he’s most proud of, but it’s a good balance of ‘not too geeky’ and ‘not too personal’.

“Oh, wow!” Frank leans in closer to get a better look, his chest pressing against Gerard’s back. “This is so cool. You really designed him all on your own?”

Gerard nods, desperately trying to focus on the art and not how close Mikey’s very attractive and very candid friend is to him. 

“That’s awesome, dude!” Frank says excitedly. “I love his hair, the colors really pop. And his gun is super cool, it’s like one of those zapper things in Star Wars.”

“Blasters.”

“Huh?”

“In Star Wars, they’re not called zappers. They’re blasters.” Figures, the only words Gerard can get out are pretentious corrections of weaponry in a fictional space opera.

Frank doesn’t seem to mind; he snickers and takes a step back, though still standing very close to Gerard. “Right, my mistake. You seem to be the resident expert around here.” Frank gestures over at the action figure collection he’d been eying earlier.

“I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, it’s just, you know, a cool movie franchise.” Gerard’s nose scrunches up. “Well, not counting the most recent movie, because that was utter garbage. A complete and unwelcomed departure from the lore and the universe that the original and prequel trilogies established! And for the sole purpose of cheap shock value and--” Gerard stops before he goes into a full-on Reddit discussion post level tirade. He clears his throat and looks down at his keyboard. “--sorry, I’ve got...a lot of opinions.”

Frank laughs again and waves a hand dismissively. “No need to apologize for them, especially when they’re correct. That new movie _was_ utter shit.”

“Right?” Gerard sits more upright and actually looks Frank in the eye. “The whole thing was a disaster from the beginning with the Palpatine reveal and his connection to Rey, but that ending, oh my god, it was so--” He cuts himself off when he realizes he’s rambling again and slumps back down in his chair. “...sorry.” 

“Dude, why are you apologizing?” Frank asks, sounding more so disappointed than he did annoyed. “You don’t have to, I told you I didn’t mind.”

Gerard just shrugs his shoulders, fidgeting anxiously with a strand of his dark hair.

Frank tsks and shakes his head. “You know, I met a lot of people at the party tonight. A lot of them were pretty cool! A lot of them were pretty hot and likely, pretty easy. And yet, here I am, talking to you. Do you know why that is?”

Gerard shakes his head.

“Because you’re genuine. The most genuine person I’ve met tonight, probably the most genuine I’ve met in a longass time. You’ve got interests, you’ve got passions, and you know what you’re about, so don’t feel ashamed or try to hide it. Go off and rant about Star Wars, show me more of your cool art, tell me all about these weird wizard cards--” Frank gestures to the large stack of Magic the Gathering cards on the desk beside him. “--I love it! And I mean it when I say I’d much rather spend my night down in a dark basement with someone who’s true to themselves than bullshitting it away upstairs with someone who’s fake.”

God, Frank really _is_ that nice. 

Gerard can’t recall the last time someone has said something so complimentary toward him. And after knowing him for a whopping ten minutes, with him being six days since his last shower and having enough grease in his hair to power every fryer in every single diner in the state of New Jersey.

It should be impossible to believe, but Frank’s words don’t sound phoned in, nor just an attempt to get into Gerard’s Batman pajama pants. They, much like Frank’s observation of Gerard, sound genuine and earnest. And when Gerard finally musters the courage to look up at Frank, the warm and inviting expression on his face says the same.

“...Thank you,” Gerard mumbles. It’s not the articulate and smooth response that he wants it to be, but it certainly is his real-self. 

And that’s the guy that Frank’s asking for. The guy that Gerard is more than happy to be. 

“Anytime!” Frank’s smile drops and he winces, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Alright, now, I know I said I can hold my bladder for awhile, but I’m gonna fucking explode. Where’s the bathroom again?”

Gerard chuckles. “You can use my bathroom if you want.” He points to the door with a large Doom Patrol poster on it.

“Awesome, thanks.” Frank starts to head to the bathroom. “And when I’m done, maybe you can tell me more about your character guy? I’d really like to know more about him.”

“Yeah, for sure. He’s for a custom D&D campaign I’m putting together with a friend.”

Frank stops and looks back at Gerard, beaming. “Shit, you play D&D? I mean, it’s not surprising, but that’s great. I love D&D!”

Gerard’s brows shoot right up. “ _You_ play D&D?” And just when Gerard thinks Frank can’t get any better, he does. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve been playing since I was a kid. It’s--shit, we’ll pick this up in a minute, I don’t wanna piss all over your cool Lord of the Rings rug.” Frank bolts into the bathroom before Gerard can correct him (it’s a Hobbit rug; similar, yes, but also entirely different). He shakes his head, smiling to himself.

He used to think it was stupid when characters in movies or comics fell in love at first sight, and he’s expressed that sentiment in multiple online discussion forums. But now, not so much.

Maybe Superman’s not so stupid when he risks it all for Lois Lane. Maybe Rey kissing Kylo Ren isn’t the worst thing to come out of cinema in 2019. Maybe Twilight has some actual worth as literature.

Alright, not that last one, but still, he’s seeing something new. He’s starting to get it, and it’s all thanks to one very handsome, very forthright, D&D-loving punk.

The topic of D&D does jog his memory of something, or rather, someone. “Shit,” He mumbles, opening his Discord tab and the conversation with Ray. He skims over the messages for now, as they’re all pretty detailed lore for the campaign. He types a quick apology for disappearing and explains that he needs to go.

 _Oh? Decided to join the party after all, huh ;)?_ Ray’s message says.

Gerard’s about to reply when he hears the sound of the toilet flushing and the bathroom door opening. Frank walks out and exhales a relieved sigh, smiling over at Gerard when he notices him staring. 

_Yeah_ Gerard types back to Ray, looking up at Frank with a smile of his own. One just as bright, just as genuine. _Something like that :)_

**Author's Note:**

> Now, the real question is, did Mikey actually give Frank the wrong directions to the bathroom on purpose because he knew he'd be perfect for his hermit brother? You decide!
> 
> Feel free to come and yell at me on [tumblr](https://smileandasong.tumblr.com/) where I often times rant/complain about my writing, and my blog is now almost entirely MCR-related content. I never shut up about them, and I'm literally always happy to talk : )


End file.
